Library Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes

Library Board of Trustees
Board Meeting
Monday, November 8, 2021

PRESENT:
Frank Brady, Kathleen Capelli, Heather Crocker, Carol Daggs, Terence Diggory, Janet Lindner, Issac (Ike) Pulver, Eric Blackman, Catherine Brenner, Jennifer Ferriss, Don Flinton, Klare Ingram, Denise Feltes

ABSENT:
Jennifer Ogrodowski, Ric Taras

Meeting Called to Order at 5:04 PM

Approval of October 2021 Minutes Regular Meeting: Draft of meeting minutes can be found on the library’s website under a section called About Us > Board of Trustees > Meeting Archives > Meeting and Date.

Question regarding placement of Minita’s comment in the Public Comment section; this was done at Minita’s request since she was reporting on Public comments.

Terry moved to approve the Minutes of October 2021 Regular Meeting. Heather seconded. All in favor. Motion carries.

Approval of Expenditures:

Janet made a motion to approve the October Pre-Paid Checks and the November Warrants. Terry seconded. All in favor. Motion carries.

Approval of Financial Reports:

Terry made a motion to approve the Financial Reports that include the October Pre-Paids, the November Warrants, the Budget Report, the Income Report, and the gift of $250 from Laura Chodos in Memory of Tom Kershner. Frank seconded. All in favor. Reports and gift are approved.

President’s Report:

After winning the election for Commissioner of Finance for the Saratoga Springs City Council, Minita Sanghvi resigned her position on the library board. Frank named Katie and himself to be on the Nominating Committee to fill the newly vacant position. If anyone knows someone who is interested, please contact Katie, Frank, or Ike. The new appointee will serve until the next election. Further discussion under New Business.

Frank highly recommends participation in the Trustee Handbook Book Club. There are 2 additional meetings in November and December, if anyone is available to attend.

New law/requirement for trustees to receive a minimum of 2 hours of trustee education after which trustees will file a certificate with the board president attesting to the completion of this education. The law will go into effect in 2023. Standards to be determined by the Education Department.

Congratulations to Heather on her successful work on Minita’s campaign.

Public Comment:

Klare Ingram reported on the Friends activities, membership, book shop operations, and their new relationship with the Saratoga Book Festival. The Friends are actively looking for new board and committee members. They welcome feedback from library staff and board members on opportunities to support services whether through gifts or promotion of library services. The Friends of the Saratoga Springs Public Library Report will be attached to these minutes.

Correspondence & Communication:

None

Director’s Report:

Re-Opening Status: Soft re-opening of the teen room with limited hours is in progress.

Human Resources Manager: Kelly McCombs has accepted our offer to be the new Human Resources Manager and plans to begin working on November 15, 2021.

Requests to Appoint: Katie made a motion to appoint Robin Ambrosino (part-time Library Clerk, effective December 6, 2021), Kelly McCombs (full-time Human Resources Manager, effective November 15, 2021), and Katie Ranno (part-time Library Clerk, effective November 13, 2021). Heather seconded. All in favor. Appointments approved.

Due to departures and retirements, the library will be looking to appoint Building Monitors, Cleaners, and Maintenance Workers in the near future.

HVAC Improvements Project: Report of the Kick-Off Meeting will be attached to these minutes. Significant delays in procuring the equipment required for the project are anticipated. Construction schedule will be provided following purchase order submissions.

Saratoga Reads: The longlist of 14 nominations has been narrowed down to 5 finalists. Ballots will be available in the library and online on the SaratogaREADS! Website.

Saratoga Book Festival: The October 15-17 event was well attended at all venues and was a success.

FY2020-21 Financial Audit: The fieldwork for the auditors went smoothly. There are a few minor findings that may require some attention.

Department Reports: Jen F reported that approximately 100 items have been donated during our Food for Fines that includes generous support by community members. The Literacy Collection is now available outside the teen room for everyone to borrow. Ike explained the relocating of staff and book store volunteers within the library to improve workflow. The future use of the Café has not yet been determined. Catherine stated that programming is transitioning from outdoors to indoors and foot traffic is increasing due to the cold weather. Renee is overseeing 2 interns from SSHS Work Experience program.

Special / Committee Reports:

None

Old Business:

Re-Opening Status: See the Director’s Report

HVAC Improvements Project: See the Director’s Report

New Business:

Request to Appoint: See the Director’s Report

Report from Friends of Saratoga Springs Public Library: See Public Comment

Suggested revisions of Bylaws of Board of Trustees:

Frank suggested the following revisions to the Bylaws of the Board of Trustees:

1) The elimination of the trustee position of Finance Officer from the Bylaws. This position is no longer necessary since the library hired an accountant, Eric, to be the treasurer as a paid public officer.

2) To explicitly state how vacancies are filled and the extent to which the appointee shall serve which is until the next annual election of trustees.

Discussion regarding these revisions followed. Frank motioned to amend the Bylaws as suggested above. Katie seconded. All in favor. Motion carries. The revisions require a second favorable approval at a subsequent meeting.

The Trustee Handbook Book Club recommends that a system be created for reapproving policies of the library every 5 years. The library has been actively reviewing policies in order to align them with our Strategic Plan.

Meeting Adjourned at 5:47 pm

Respectfully submitted by:
Denise Feltes, Senior Account Clerk